Strengths:
With DeAngelo, the talent is unquestionable. The Philadelphia native ripped up the OHL with 15 goals and 71 points in 51 games this season. Nobody questions that, on talent alone, DeAngelo was one of the 10-15 best players in this year's class. His skating and puckhandling skills allow him to dismantle opposing defenses and gain the offensive zone with ease when he chooses to carry it. He's also got excellent vision and passing ability, and runs a power play with ruthless efficiency and a heavy righty shot. Indeed, Red Line Report ranked DeAngelo the 7th best pure skater and 13th best pure goal scorer in this draft, the latter of which is surely worth a double take given that DeAngelo is a defenseman.

Weaknesses:
The negatives, athletically, center on DeAngelo's stature, which leads to his being overwhelmed down low in the defensive zone, and his tendency to surrender neutral zone turnovers at bad times while pushing the pace. As a consequence, he posted a cringe-worthy -34 rating this season with the Sting. And yet, as cringe-worthy as that is, it pales in comparison to the red flags that surround DeAngelo off the ice. DeAngelo hasn't exactly mastered the team concept, as evidenced by his verbal abuse of a teammate with slurs that led to a suspension by the OHL. This is a young man who has been branded by many as a me-first player who the Lightning are gambling they can reorient into a productive member of the organization. If they can, Red Line Report projects him as a tremendously skilled offensive d-man and power play quarterback with comparisons to a lite version of Paul Coffey. If they can't get DeAngelo to coexist within the team concept, he'll be a bust, and one you have to worry will drag down teammates with him. Hey coaches: this is why they pay you the big bucks.

Projection:
Highly skilled offensive defenseman and power-play QB

Comparisons:
Same kind of game as Paul Coffey but, you know, not Paul Coffey

Looking Back on Day One, Looking Ahead to Day Two
Remember how we said in our pre-draft preview there's an age-old question at draft time about whether a team drafts for need versus the best player available (BPA)? Remember how we said that, in all likelihood, the team that selected Jonathan Drouin over Seth Jones when it clearly needed a righty d-man would surely take the BPA? You do? Yeah, well, so much for that. The Lightning reverted back to the needs-based approach they employed in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft when they selected Slater Koekkoek, despite red flags on the health of Koekkoek's shoulder. Tonight, holding the 19th overall pick, the Lightning again made a needs-based pick and again chose to bypass some considerable red flags:

PHILADELPHIA –The Tampa Bay Lightning have acquired defenseman Jason Garrison, the rights to forward Jeff Costello and a seventh-round pick at the 2015 NHL Entry draft from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for their second-round pick in 2014, vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman announced today.

Garrison, 6-foot-3, 222 pounds, played in 81 games with the Canucks last season, recording seven goals, four power-play goals and 33 points. He ranked fifth on the team overall for points and led all Vancouver blue-liners. Garrison averaged 20:53 in ice time per game in 2013-14, which ranked fourth among Canuck defensemen.

A native of White Rock, British Columbia, Garrison has played in 318 career NHL games with Vancouver and the Florida Panthers. During his career he has amassed 38 goals, 16 on the power play, and 108 points. He finished third among all NHL defensemen for goal scoring in 2011-12 with 16. He has appeared in a total of eight playoff games, recording a goal and three points.

Brown, 5-foot-10, 172 pounds, appeared in 63 games with the Lightning last season, posting four goals and 19 points while averaging 13:02 in ice time per game. He ranked fourth among Tampa Bay rookies for assists and points. Brown also played in all four Stanley Cup Playoff games in 2014, notching two assists. He was tied for the team lead for helpers and ranked tied for fourth on the team for points. Brown also saw his average ice time increase to 14:59 during the postseason.

TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed forward Ryan Callahan to a six-year contract today, vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman announced.

"We are pleased to announce that we've reached an agreement on a six-year contract extension with Ryan,” Yzerman said. “He's proven to be a fierce competitor and outstanding leader who fits very well with our team."

“I couldn’t be happier to be part of the Tampa Bay Lightning organization for the next six years and I am excited for this new chapter of my career,” Callahan said. “Tampa Bay has been a great place to live and play from the day I got there. As soon as the season ended I knew it was a place I wanted to be.”

TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning have resigned forward Alex Killorn to a two-year contract, vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman announced today.

Killorn, 24, played in all 82 games for the Lightning last season, collecting 17 goals and 41 points to go along with 63 penalty minutes. He was one of three players on the Bolts to skate in all 82 games. Killorn ranked sixth on the Lightning for goals with 17 in his first full season in the NHL. He notched six points in the first five games of the 2013-14 season, including the overtime-winner in Buffalo on October 8.

TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning have resigned forward Ondrej Palat to a three-year contract, vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman announced today.

Palat, 23, skated in 81 games for the Lightning during the 2013-14 season, collecting 23 goals and 59 points to go along with a plus-32 rating. He was named a finalist for the Calder Trophy, given annually to the top NHL rookie, which will be announced on Tuesday, June 24 in Las Vegas. He ranked second among all NHL rookies for points and was third for goals. Palat also led all Lightning skaters for points and plus/minus. He became just the third player in Lightning franchise history to finish the season with a plus/minus rating better than 30.

TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning have re-signed center Tyler Johnson to a three-year contract today, vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman announced. Johnson was scheduled to become a restricted free agent.

Johnson, 5-foot-9, 181 pounds, played in his first full NHL season in 2013-14 and parlayed it into a nomination for the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year. He was one of three players to appear in all 82 games during the regular season, ranking fourth on the Lightning for goals with 24 and fifth for points with 50. His plus-23 rating was second on the team. Johnson was third among NHL rookies for points and tied for first for goals. He led all NHL first-year forwards for average time on ice with 18:47 per game and face-offs taken with 1,275. Johnson became just the second rookie in NHL history, the first since Dennis Maruk in 1975-76, to record five power-play and five shorthanded goals in one season.

TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed goaltender Andrei Vasilevskii to a three-year, entry-level contract today, vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman announced.

Vasilevskii, 6-foot-3, 203 pounds, played in 28 games with Salavat Yulaev Ufa of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League this season, posting a 14-8 record with three shutouts, a 2.21 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage. He led all Ufa goaltenders for games played, goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts. Vasilevskii also led his team to the semi-finals of the KHL playoffs in 2014, posting a 9-9 record with a 1.99 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage with one shutout. He ranked tied for fourth in the KHL during the playoffs for save percentage and eighth for goals-against average.

The native of Tyumen, Russia made his KHL debut last season, playing in eight games for Salavat Yulaev. He went 4-1 with a 2.22 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage. In all, Vasilevskii has appeared in 36 KHL games, with an 18-9 record, a 2.21 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage with four shutouts. Prior to joining Salavat Yulaev, he played for their junior team, Tolpar Ufa, in the MHL.

Vasilevskii has shined on the international stage with Russia, appearing in each of the previous three IIHF U-20 World Junior Championships. He won the Silver Medal in 2012 as well as Bronze Medals in 2014 and 2013. Vasilevskii was voted by participating coaches as one of Russia’s top three players in each of the tournaments he has played in. He also participated in the 2011 IIHF U-18 World Junior Championships where he won the Bronze Medal.

The 19-year-old was drafted by the Lightning in the first round, 19th overall, at the 2012 NHL Draft.

Anders Lindback allowed 3 goals on 20 shots before being lifted tonight. You can't fault him on the first goal, but the second and third goals were horrible as Lindback was way off his angle on long, unscreened shots. No excuse, and that may be the end of his career in a Lightning uniform as his contract expires this summer. Kristers Gudlevskis allowed 1 goal on 17 shots the rest of the way for the dreaded back door loss. He was good, and interjecting Gudlevskis into the game gave the team life they desperately needed.

Tampa Bay got outshot 37-23 in this game, so its difficult to make the case that they were outright robbed like they were in Game Three. With Barberio making a tremendous mistake early in the game to put the team down 1-0 in the First Period yet again and then Lindback struggling between the pipes, the team looked like it had given up hope and that was really reflected in their play until Gudlevskis came in.

With that said, in the Third Period, the Lightning were the aggressors and eventually finished with the 10-8 shot advantage and they were coming at the Canadiens in waves. And then, again, we saw the officials stick their grubby fingers on the scales. I ask you to contrast the play where Killorn was called for "obstructing" the goaltender in Game Three against Bourque trucking Gudlevskis in the Third Period of Game Four. I ask you to watch the full tape of the play where Paquette was called with just a little over 2 minutes left in the game. The refs were allowing anything and everything under the sun to go uncalled, including Bournival slashing, tackling, and then laying on Paquette for a full 5 count before Paquette retaliated with a trip after both got back up to their feet. And, of course, with the game being in Montreal and Paquette being a rookie, there you go. At worst, both Paquette and Bournival should've gone off and it should've been 4-on-4 hockey, but instead the refs presented Montreal with what became the winning power play, gift wrapped and all.

Folks are going to say it's sour grapes and that Montreal was the better team in this series, and they were. But, they weren't the better team to the magnitude that is reflected in a 4-0 series sweep. The Lightning, for all their problems, lost 3 out of the 4 games by just 1 goal, and it took some dubious officiating in Game Three and Game Four just to make that a reality. It could just as easily be a 2-2 series right now, with even officiating, or a 3-1 series lead for the Lightning with fair officiating and a bounce here or there.

I won't get into specific personnel things I would like to see the Lightning change in this post. There will be time for that in the next couple of days. But, I do want to address what I hope these last two games in Montreal will do for the culture of this hockey club, top to bottom. That doesn't just include players, but also coaches and front office, as well. Us old timers who have been following the team for decades know this, but now I hope they have learned this lesson, too: in order to win it all the Lightning have to be THAT MUCH better than the rest of the league in order to overcome the institutional barriers and biases in the NHL. It's not enough to be even with a team or even 1 goal better than a team, because you open yourself up to the possibility of the kind of shenanigans that happened in Game Three and Game Four against Montreal. The NHL views the Lightning franchise as a junior partner in the league, and when push comes to shove, experience has taught us all the bigger market, higher profile clubs will always get the benefit of the doubt. So, with that in mind, the Lightning can't just beat teams. They have to destroy teams. They can't leave any doubt. They have to clobber teams by a screwjob-proof margin of error and leave nothing but the smoldering cinders of what used to be their opponents behind them. Period.

The 2004 Cup team was THAT MUCH better than the rest of the league. That team won an unprecedented bounty of postseason trophies. They had the leading regular season scorer. Leading postseason scorer. They were clear and away the best team in the league, and even then I remain mildly surprised the referees made the correct call in Game Six on Gelinas' shot that eventually led to the team's Game Seven triumph.

Honestly, if you read between the lines of Martin St. Louis and why he wanted Tampa Bay, I think it pretty much confirms all of the above. He was sick of having to work twice as hard as players in markets like New York, Montreal, or Toronto to get the same level of respect and opportunity. So, now this generation of the Tampa Bay Lightning knows. Players will need to double down on their training, because they'll have to be THAT MUCH better to win it all. Coaches will have to put THAT MUCH extra time in the video room and on the white board. And, Steve Yzerman and Jeff Vinik? Gentlemen, the time for sipping tea with the same people who throw roadblocks in front of this franchise left and right, and have done so for decades, needs to be over. I've said all along, the Lightning are the NHL's (politer) version of the Oakland Raiders. They're the party crashers. They're the interlopers. They're the innovators. They're the counter culture. Do you get it now? It's not enough to play in Gary Bettman's sandbox. The only way this franchise gets respect is do what Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman did in frustration tonight: give a straight right cross to the mush of the league's mainstream franchises, take over the sandbox, and charge their sorry rear ends rent if they want to get back in it. Gentlemen, I understand you didn't declare war on the NHL, but the NHL declared war on you. So, you better damned well arm yourselves and start to take no prisoners starting tomorrow morning when the wound-licking needs to end and the steely determination to get r-e-v-e-n-g-e begins. Don't be ashamed to take that colossal chip, put it up on your shoulder, name it swagger, and use it to smite those who have wronged you.

And, before anyone up north accuses me of being a conspiracy theorist: boys and girls, the word "conspiracy" implies there's concealment. There's nothing concealed about what happened in Game Three and Game Four, and there's been hundreds of people from inside and outside of the league that have called shenanigans on what happens in places like Montreal and Toronto over the past several decades. Most professional sports leagues, when faced with a massive PR issue like that, move decisively to do something about it. Like, you know, don't assign another Quebecois official to work a Montreal playoff game two days after another Quebecois official made a hugely controversial call that swung the game for the home side. Not the NHL though. And, guess what? That says a lot more about the NHL and some of its enablers in the northern media than it does about us small market, crackpot "conspiracy" theorists down south.

Mike Kostka had an assist and was +2 with 1 hit and 1 blocked shot in 13:48. Is he a liability defensively? Yes. Does he find a way to sneak onto the scoresheet every other game? You betcha, in a way that Mark Barberio simply couldn't in that role all season long. I am of the opinion that I would be perfectly fine with Kostka sticking on this roster as a #8 defenseman next season because I truly believe what he gives you grades out to be a net positive, in the end equation.

Cedric Paquette was -1 with 2 penalty minutes and 3 hits in 10:49. He was also 60% on draws. I feel bad for Dump Truck, because I feel like he was thrown into a Calc I final exam after just completing acing Algebra II. Tonight, he got stripped in the neutral zone on the second goal (the first Lindback softie), and of course his was the (dubious) penalty that led to the game winning goal. When you couple that with losing his man on the game winning goal in Game One, you see that Paquette wore the goat horns a disproportionate amount of the time in this, his maiden NHL voyage. He's a good player, and he did a lot of good things in this late season cup of coffee. I hope the experience doesn't hurt his development, because I do think he was thrown into the deep end of the pool too soon, and it ultimately did show.